Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

Click here to listen to a piece broadcast on Good Morning Ulster on Monday 22nd September.

The piece was broadcast by BBC Radio Ulster following the first ever Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland retreat on Irish soil and features several participants, one of whom felt that, through the initiative, she had "conquered the world".

Read on for more on the retreat.....

Mr. John Gormley T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, stated today (4 September) that he has recently made an order under the Wildlife Act.

Mr John Gormley T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stated today (12   September) that he had notified the Ward Union Hunt of his decision to grant the Hunt a licence under the Wildlife Act, 1976 with a number of new conditions.

Mr. John Gormley T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today (29 August 08) has made a decision in relation to license applications submitted to his Department under the Wildlife Act, 1976 by the Irish Coursing Club.

The Countryside Alliance Awards, formerly the Best Rural Retailer competition, are now open to nominations, so cast yours here. Daily Telegraph columnist Andrew Pierce recently started the hunt for the rural politicians of the year. The political awards and the title rural hero of 2008 will be judged for the first time this year alongside the prizes for the best rural retailers in four categories which have been awarded in previous years. So get nominating and put your rural community on the map. If you would rather put pen to paper than vote online, download a form here and post it to 

Countryside Alliance Ireland. Larchfield Estate, Balliesmills Road, Lisburn BT27 6XJ

or

Countryside Alliance Ireland, Courtlough Shooting Grounds, Courtlough, Balbriggan Co Dublin.

With the advent of the new game shooting season, the major organisations representing shooting, of which the Countryside Alliance is one, have launched an improved version of the Code of Good Shooting Practice. 

This extract from the foreword sums up the need for the code: ‘We must never be complacent about the future of shooting. Shooting and shoot management practices will be judged by the way participants and providers behave. Our sport is under constant and detailed scrutiny and we must demonstrate that we conduct it to high standards. The Code of Good Shooting Practice brings together these standards and makes them easily available to all who participate.’

The code is a good example of using self-regulation to fend off Government intervention. By its voluntary nature, not all may adhere to it, but over time it has proved an invaluable tool whether dealing with politicians or supermarkets. It points the shooting community in the right direction.

To Download your copy click here